Eerie stillness in Aleppo as Syrian rebels pull back

A Free Syrian Army fighter walks through a house during clashes with Syrian Army in Aleppo, on Aug. 10.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

A man carries a suitcase in central Aleppo, on Aug. 10.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

A man and a woman look out of a window in central Aleppo, on Aug. 10.

Reuters reports --Syrian forces have pushed rebels back from a strategic district of Aleppo, but skirmishes continued in the city and the United Nations said the conflict engulfing Syria would have no winner.

Syrian President Assad, engaged in an all-consuming fight with his mostly Sunni opponents, appointed a Sunni as his new prime minister on Thursday after his predecessor fled on Monday in the highest-level defection so far in the uprising that began 17 months ago.